Protective device



p 6, 1944. F. D. HUNTSMAN 2,358,978

PROTECTIVE DEVICE Filed Aug. 3, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet l Sept. 26, 1944.

Filed Aug. 3, 1943 72 I 54 as 22 f 21 .Q 33

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 26, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT, orrics PROTECTIVE DEVICE Francis D. Huntsman, Salt Lake City. Utah, as-

signor'. to Huntsman Welding Shield Company,

, Salt Lake City, Utah, a partnership consisting not Francis D. Huntsman, Minnie Huntsman,

R. E. Kimberlin, and Marion M. Kimberlin Application August a, 1943, Serial No. 497,235 6 Claims. (01. 2-s)' This invention relates to means for protecting the head and face of welders and others engaged in work in which heat, intense light, discharged particles, and falling objects are encountered.

More particularly, the invention pertains to gear that comprises a protective head cover and a protective-shield or facepiece swingably associated therewith so that it may be moved from and to protective position.

The head cover or skull piece is of any suitable rigid sheet material, such as metal-or fiber, pressed to shape as is common in the art, and the shield may be of the same or similar material, both of these main elements of. the gear being capable of shielding the head and face of the user from injurious emanations. The part of the gear that is worn on top of the head -.is usually referred to in the art as a hard hat, and

hereinafter it is indicated as a hat.

It is an object of the invention to provide means whereby the shield easily may be associated with and dissociated from the hat. Thus, when a person stops work in which face protection is required, he may disconnect the shield from the hat and wear the latter for skull protection, and he again may connect the hat and shield when face protection is required. He also, Just as readily, may substitute on the e hat one kind of shield for another when that is desirable for changed working conditions.

Another object of the invention is to provide protective gear of this kind in which all parts constituting the means for swingably mounting the shield on the hat are permanently d thereto, and thus there is no danger of loss of essential elements when the two main. portions are disconnected. Further, association and dissociation of the two main parts may be efiected without use of tools.

The invention also provides means for securely locking the hat and shield together.

When considered with the description herein, characteristics of the invention are apparent in the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof, wherein an adaptation is disclosed for purpose of explanation. Y

Like reference characters refer to corresponding parts in the drawings, of which- Fig. l is a side view, parts of the shield being broken away to show certain elements of the gear, and the shield being shown by full lines in its normal or protective position and by dotted lines in its out-of-the-way position;

Fig. 2 isa section on line 2 -2, Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3, Fig; 1; Fig. 4 is a section on line 4-4, Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5, Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary interior view of one side of the shield;

Fig. 7 is a similar view of the other side.

The face shield portion 8- of the protective gear may be of conventional form so far as concerns its general shape and the material of which it is made. It comprises a front 9, a top ID, a bottom ii, and sides E2 of shape and extent to protect the face, brow, chin, and sides of the head and face, respectively. The front has a sight opening with which a glass holder it is associated, as is usual in the art.

A fiat member or plate it inside of the shield and extending from the front toward the rear is attached in its front portion by fasteners 85 to one of the side walls, as to the right one as shown. A brace member it is secured to that side wall between it and the member it by one of the fasteners I5 and fasteners l1, and it extends in its free portion to or nearly to the free end of the member I i. A headed pivot member it is mounted in the free end portions of the members N and i6.

A flat plate or member i9 is attached inside of the shield to the other side wall thereof oppdsite to and in a manner similar to member it. Apivot member 20, having a head 2i on the inside of the shield, extends through member i9 near its free end and through the shield wall, 2.5.61 it has outside of that wall a removable head An arcuate crown band 23 of sheet material, as part of the means for associating the shield with a hat, is swingably mounted in its free end portions on the pivots it and 20, being disposed at one side between the inner head of pivot i8 and the plate it and at the other side under the pivot head M. The ends of the band extend below the pivots. One of the band ends is formed with means to cooperate with a hat to hold the latter in association with the band. For example, as shown at the right, the band end is back and upturned to provide a terminal hook it. The other end portion 25 of the band is practically straight except for its slight curvature as part of the arcuature of the band.

Relative swinging movement of the band and shield may be controlled by any suitable means at one side, so that the shield may be held in protective and raised positions.

For example, there may be employed control means that is the same as or similar to that disclosed by my Patent No. 1,601,830, Welders mask, October 5, 1926. As shown embodied in the present protective gear, that control means is interposed between band 23 and member l3, and includes the following:

Plates 26 and 21, each comprising a centrally apertured disc 28, through which the pivot 20 is disposed, and formed with radial V-shaped ribs 29 disposed at right angles to one another and at an angle of forty-five degrees to'the median lines of arms 80 and 3! of the plates 2' and 21, respectively, the ribs of one fitting in the corresponding recesses 32 of the other. The arm 30 of the plate 28 is attached to the outside of the band 23 by fasteners 83, one of which extends outside of the band as a stud 34 for a purpose later explained. The arm 3| of the plate 21 is attached to the member [8. That plate has a stop 35 with which an edge of the arm 3!} of plate 28 contacts to limit downward movement of the shield.

A spring as on the outside portion of the pivot 20'is interposed between the head 22 and the shield wall. It urges the discs 28 together and permits the separation thereof that must occur when theshield is moved from one position to the other with respect to the band.

The protective gear also includes a head member 31 capable of being carried by the head and of supporting the helmet. It may be a hat of a size and shape to cover the top and upper sides of the head, and it may have at the back a rearwardly and downwardly extending vizor-like part 38 for protection of the back of the neck of the user. The hat may be fitted with any suitable head gear or lining to cushion it on and space it from the head, the lining not being shown as it does not pertain directly to the present invention.

A strap 38 is fixed to the exterior of one side of the hat slightly above its lower edge, and at a diametrically opposite place a strap 40 is fixed on the other side of the hat. The straps are attached to the hat by fasteners 4| at the ends. Between the fasteners each strap is offset or spaced from the surface of the hat. A member 42, comprising a web 43 and upstanding flanges 44 and 45, is positioned on top of the hat in the are extending between the two straps. The edge portion of the flange 45 is deflected over the web 43 as a flange 46. The member 42 is secured to the hat by a fastener 41.

The straps 39 and 40 and the member 42 constitute retentive guides or holders for the crown band 23, which is disposable in the channel between the flanges 44 and 45 and under the flange 46. The end portions of the band are associated with the straps as later explained.

A latch or look lever 43 is pivoted at 49 on one side of the hat, and it is capable of swinging across the band 23. The lever is of spring material, and it has urge in its free portion to deflect away from the surface of the hat. A catch 30 is fixed to the hat on the side of the band opposite to the lever pivot, and it has a raised end under which the free portion of the lever may be locked.

When the two main parts of the protective gear are to be assembled, one of the straps 39-40 is engaged with the band hook 24, the hat being slightly tilted when that engagement is being made. The hat is moved upwardly on the other side and with the straight end of the band entering under the other strap.

The lever 48 then is swung over the crown band 23 and against the stud 34 and this movement is continued with the strap moving upwardly over the end portion of the band until the lever is looked under the catch 50. In this position of the parts the band is seated in the channel of member 42, and the hat and helmet are reliably held together.

"The shield then is swingable on the pivots from and to protective position. The ribs and recesses of the coacting discs 28 are so coordinated that the shield is held in normal protective position when down and with its front in substantially horizontal position over the hat when up. The stop 36 is positioned to contact an edge of the arm 30 of the plate and to hold the shield in its proper and normal protective position.

The hat and shield may be dissociated by an operation the reverse of assembly. That is, the lever is unlocked and swung to release the stud 34, the hat is moved downwardly to release the strap on that side from envelopment of the band end, and then the strap on the other side is lifted from the hook 24.

The protective gear of the invention is such that a shield not only may be disconnected from a hat so that the latter may be worn separately, but also a shield of one kind may be detached from a hat and one of another kind substituted therefor. Further, hats of difierent characteristics may be connected to and disconnected from a single type of shield.

I claim:

1. Protective headgear comprising a shield having sides, a crown band pivotally mounted therein on the sides thereof, a head member, a strap on each side thereof to retentively engage end portions of said band, and means to lock said band and head member together.

2. Protective headgear comprising a shield having sides, a crown band pivotally mounted therein on the sides thereof, a head member, a strap on each side and a guide on top of said head member to retentively receive said band, and means to lock said band and head member together.

3. Protective headgear comprising a shield having sides, a crown band pivotally mounted therein on the sides thereof, a hook on one end portion of said band and the other end portion thereof being practically straight, a head member engageable at one side with said hook, a strap on the other side of said head member to receive the practically straight end of said band, and means to lock said band and head member together.

4. Protective headgear comprising a shield having sides, a crown band pivotally mounted therein on the sides thereof, a hook on one end portion of said band and the other end portion thereof being substantially straight, a head member engageabie at one side with said hook,

a strap on'the other side of said head memberto receive the substantially straight end portion of said band, a stud on said band above the latter portion thereof, a lock lever pivoted on said head member and swingable over said band against said stud, and means to hold said lever in locked position.

5. Protective headgear comprising a shield having sides, a crown band pivotally mounted therein on the sides thereof and having free end portions below the pivotal points, a head member, retentive guides thereon to receive the free end portions of said crown band, and means to lock said band and head member together.

6. Protective headgear comprising a shield having sides, a crown band pivotally mounted therein on the sides thereof and having at one side a free end portion below the pivotal point,

aii head member, a retentiveguide on on side 

